One More Face in the Crowd
by Pixieblade
Summary: A 58 AU story. A little Ghost Story for the evening.


**One More Face in the Crowd**

Saiyuki AU FF

58/T

The club was drab. An utter bore by his standards; there were no tight, clingy skirts, no decent booze, and he'd just been reprimanded for smoking by some whiny blond with a major stick plus ass condition that the guy should really get looked at. Add in the fact that there was this guy standing next to him, and sure, the guy wasn't bad looking or anything, maybe even this side of the eye-catching line, but it was a _dude_, and he didn't do guys. He'd only come here because Banri had gone off about how the place was supposed to be haunted by some super fine looking ghost and hell, it was Halloween after all and he had nothing better to do. The whole vampire-shtick in the quarters had been completely over done in his opinion.

"Prick." he muttered, middle finger saluting the back of Mr. Blond with his usual level of cocky humour. He flicked his eyes back towards the brunette beside him and noticed the slight shaking of shoulders and pinched line around his mouth.

"Well, he is." he grinned, ruby eyes catching the faintest gleam of green and gold as the other turned slightly to regard him. "What the hell type of club doesn't allow smoking?"

"There's a smoking section out back, he'd probably have told you about it, had the stick been a little lower." a soft, lilting voice wafted up around him, hemming him in with it's warm intensity. He turned and looked at the guy more closely.

There wasn't anything remarkable about him that he could tell, he had a black t-shirt and flannel over shirt on. The dark blue jeans were on the looser side with fashionable tears across the thighs and cuffs. Accessory-wise he had a simple leather cord around his neck that matched the ones around his right wrist, thin silver framed glasses and three pewter ear cuffs on his left ear. Nothing outstanding about the guy at all.

Until he turned and looked at him properly that was.

He sucked in a breath. Deep, forest green eyes sparked in the flashing light of the club, the rims somewhere between gold and black, an intensity he'd never seen in another person's eyes before. The guy looked him over once and smiled, the look somewhere between calculated and sultry. He'd never seen a more scary-desirable look.

Green-eyes turned back to the dance floor, tilted his head at the bar tender and nodded once before glancing over his shoulder at him and then walking away towards the back of the club. He didn't know why he followed him. If asked he probably would have just scratched his head in confusion and rambled something about how he couldn't _not_ follow him. Weaving through the crowd he had to admit the man knew how to move. He watched more than once as he ducked a flailing arm at the last second, was pulled into and just as easily disengaged himself from some drunk woman's clingy hands, twisted around a waitress momentarily blinded by the lights and side-stepped a bouncer's energetic expulsion of a rowdy club-goer.

He had to admit, he was impressed. He never would have pegged the lanky, pale man with just slightly tousled mousy hair as a pro, but the man knew what he was doing. Propping a shoulder against the edge of an emergency exit he glanced back and met crimson eyes, a soft knowing smile on his lips before he disappeared into the black. He faltered for a second at the threshold, _why_ fluttering through his mind again before the ever present _who the fuck cares?_ washed over him and he had one hand on the bar, one foot out into the cold night air.

"It's a bit cold out tonight, but at least here you can smoke." He turned on his heels, almost stumbling backwards as green-eyes was suddenly right behind him.

"Um...yeah. Thanks." he stammered, not quite sure what to make of being led around by the nose like this. Running a tan hand through dark copper hair he took a step back, thighs striking hard against a wooden railing.

"Technically, we're still in the club. This area is usually reserved for private functions, but the crew and bands come here to smoke and chat when they're on break as well. You're free to light-up if you'd like." Green-eyes sat back on the edge of the railing, one long leg dangling over the wood, the other propped up against the back wall. He took a deep breath and leaned back, glancing around the small patio, watching as the night breeze swayed the tops of the cyprus trees over head, the movement making the stars far above flick in and out like a child with a light. The moon was full, a bright blue haze ringing it. He had to admit. He loved nights like this, all still and calm with the hint of a storm on the horizon.

His head snapped back as the door swung open, a large, intimidating bouncer with two glasses and a bottle of something held in one meaty hand pausing half way through the door, his gold eyes raked over him before he called out in a gravely, seldom used voice.

"Mr. H, you out here?"

"Behind you, Gat." Green-eyes murmured, his voice as soft as a sigh on the wind.

"Brought you the usual. You need anything else?" Gat asked, thumping the bottle on a small shelf built into the wall beside him, the glasses tinkling together as he moved away.

"No, we should be fine. Thank you, Gat."

Gat nodded curtly and left, a last displeased look at the moon above us and at 'Mr. H' making him uneasy.

"Would you care for some? It's not the greatest whiskey, but it serves it's purpose."

"Not a big whiskey drinker." he whispered, something about the oddity of the night making his voice match the low, sultry note the other used so easily.

"Hmm...I suppose not. I could ask Gat to bring you a beer if you'd like?" Green-eyes regarded him curiously, as if trying to figure out exactly what brand he'd prefer.

"Nah, I'm cool. Just a smoke and then I'm out of here. Thanks though." he added absently.

"Pity, I was getting bored standing around by myself. It would have been nice to talk to someone for a bit. The name's Hakkai, by the way." He offered, moon-pale fingers holding up a glowing amber glass in salute.

"Gojyo. You a regular here or something?" he asked despite himself.

"Hmm...or something." he admitted cagedly.

"So tell me Gojyo, is the club really that boring?" Hakkai leaned back, glass resting on his knee as he watched the clouds get tattered and blown about above them.

"Well, it's just more of the same, isn't it? I've been to crazier, been to lamer. It just is, I guess." he fumbled for the words to describe his sense of offness the place had. He was really bad at making other's understand what he was talking about, he had a way with people, not words damn it.

"Hmm...so is it too much, or not enough? I must admit, tonight is a bit...tame, comparatively, but I guess that's all because of the moon." Gojyo was a bit taken back. He'd never had someone actually take the time to try and really hold a conversation with him before. Everyone either had told him to fuck off or had tried to fuck him.

"What's the moon got to do with anything?" he asked, pushing off the railing and walking closer.

Hakkai turned and looked at him, a smouldering light burning in his eyes as he flashed a brilliant smile at him. "Do you know about blue moons, Gojyo?" he asked, his voice a breathy whisper in the dark.

Gojyo's senses seemed to be reeling, he hadn't even had much to drink, a shot of Everclear didn't normally make him woozy, but that's exactly what he was feeling, like he'd downed a bottle of cold syrup of something.

"Not really sure what that has to do with it." he managed, resting against the wall beside Hakkai, reaching up with his free hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"The blue moon is the second full moon in a month. It doesn't happen very often. The old-school cajuns like Gat's folks, the ones that live out there in the bayou's and backwoods behind us. They believe it's a portent of bad weather...a storm so fierce it could wipe the face of the state clean. Hurricanes and such. I never believed it of course, folklore and superstition. Not until ten years ago. My sister and I were driving down from Baton Rouge, crossed over some of the levies when Andrew came through all of a sudden. We never knew what hit us. I remember waking up at one point, under water, my face barely in an air pocket, the car was upside down and I was pinned. There was blood in the water, my sister's hand was clutched in mine, but it was cold. I was cold and she didn't move when I tugged."

He took another long swig of the burning liquid as Gojyo lit another cigarette, the first one had bunt down to cinders in his fingers. "The next time I woke up I was staring at a ceiling of rough hewn cyprus and spanish moss. Gat scared me horribly when he suddenly loomed out of the darkness." He laughed, the sound sharp and brittle as he glanced at Gojyo. "He really isn't that bad, just a bit...imposing. He found me floating downstream. No sign of the car or Kan...well. We never found her, too much rain, too many rivers and tributaries. It took a while before I could get up and leave. By the time I could, I couldn't bring myself to. No reason with her gone."

"She was my only family, you see." he whispered, eyes gleaming with memories.

Gojyo puffed out an acrid line of smoke, "That sucks man, I'm sorry, for both of you."

Hakkai gave him a funny look, like he'd never had someone think it was bad for both of them to be separated. He shook his head minutely, a softening of his features as he turned and looked at Gojyo fully.

"A few years after they finally managed to get me out of these backwoods, sent me back to school where I finished my degree, I went and rambled around out west for a bit. But I couldn't get the taste of the place out of my mouth. The salty mugginess and bitter taste of the brown waters and fierce protectiveness of these people. I came back two years and opened this club. It's not much. As you said, I'm not really sure what I'm trying to make of the place. Should it have a theme or just have a good vibe that makes people feel comfortable? It's all very complicated."

Gojyo nodded for some reason, feigning understanding even though he really hadn't the slightest clue why the guy'd just told him his life story. "What did you think about when you opened the place? You don't strike me as the club going type, so why'd you open it here?" he asked, shifting a bit as a cool, damp wind blew in over the dark water.

Hakkai sighed softly and turned back to the dark woods. "What did you see out there? When you look at the water and the trees, the fireflies sparking deep in the depths, when you hear the catfish jumping and the hoot of the owls? I feel connected to everything. Like it's in my blood, rumbling around in me, tieing me to this land, illuminated by the moon. This is magic to me, Gojyo. Utter magic."

Gojyo shifted again, unease inching up his spine, something was seriously off about this guy and yet he couldn't move away, instead, like back in the club, he felt himself drawn even closer to the fragile looking man. Coming up beside him, their shoulders brushing he dipped his head, copper-red hair fluttering around his face as he placed a hand on the railing behind him, leaning on it to look out over Hakkai's shoulder into the shadow covered bayou.

"Look. I'm sure it's just respect and fear. These waters almost killed you, right? They _did_ take your sister. So you've got to hate them. That's totally understandable. By building this club, were you trying to defy them, to prove to them they couldn't kill you or were you trying to show off something unearthly to the city kids coming here to party that they're probably too stoned or stupid to see anyways, because that won't help you forget her Hakkai. And it won't help you move on."

Hakkai glanced back at Gojyo shocked. He'd never imagined someone would be able to guess the real reason he built the club. Especially not some random stranger. But he'd felt something from the red-head the minute he'd walked in. Something base and grounded and yet something that was intimately ephemeral. It was the only reason he'd shown him the back patio. The only reason he'd spoken to him at all.

He chuckled softly, glass forgotten on the shelf and swung his foot over the edge, hopping down effortlessly from his perch, Gojyo backing up just enough to let Hakkai move away from him. Hakkai turned to Gojyo, eyes shimmering and flashed a real smile at the man.

"Thank you, Gojyo. I've greatly enjoyed our talk."

Gojyo shivered as an icy hand reached out and gently smoothed itself across his cheek, fingertips ghosting over the three silver scars hidden beneath his long hair.

"Hakkai?" he whispered, voice stuck in his throat for a moment as the moon seemed to focus all it's light on them.

"You're right, you know. I built this club to prove something to these waters, but I never seemed to prove it to myself. I couldn't take it. I wish I had met you a year ago. Maybe then I wouldn't have given in. The water is so very deep and fast here. One day the club will disappear beneath them. One day." He paused for a moment before stepping back.

"There's another meaning to the blue moon, did you know, they say on clear nights when the moon is full the second ring allows spirits to walk the earth. People with lingering attachments and such. I'm very, very happy I could have met you, Gojyo." he whispered.

"Hakkai, wait. I don't get it man, what the hell is going on?!" Gojyo called out as the light from the moon seemed to flare for a moment. Hakkai was suddenly so close they could be in the same spot, featherlight lips on his, cool to the touch, almost imperceptibly light as they fluttered over his. A soft _thank you_ whispered against the side of his mouth; and then he was alone in the dark.

The clinking of ice melting in the discarded glasses broke through his thoughts. He raised a finger to his lips, felt the faint tingle of electricity there and to his utter confusion, found tears streaming down his face. He swiped at the traitorous wetness with the back of his hand.

"Mr. H. don't come back very often." he heard the low gravely voice of Gat behind him.

"What the hell did he do to me?" Gojyo growled.

"Nothin'. He comes back when he misses her. Tries to find her in the water. Looks like he won't need to no more. Found you instead."

Gojyo turned on the guy, one hand flung out to rake in the bayou behind them. "And what the fuck does that mean?!"

"Mr. H. he told you what happened." Gat looked at him like he was an idiot, not getting something so simple as this.

"Yeah, his sister dies, you kept him alive and then what? He goes and offs himself in the bayou just like that?!"

Gat leaned back against the door, gold eyes taking in everything. "He never stays this long. Maybe he watches for a bit, maybe he drinks out here. He might say hi, or thank you, but he never stays. A year-ago, if you'd found this place, maybe he wouldn't have died. Maybe not. Mr. H. was like that, a man of masks. I don't think anyone ever asked him if he hated this place before. You would have been good for him."

Gat closed his eyes and seemed to listen to the wind through the cyprus trees for a long moment. Gojyo turned from the man and walked to the edge of the patio, staring up at the moon he cursed under his breath.

"Damn it. You can't just get me all interested in you and then off and be all dead like that. That's not fair, Hakkai. Not fair at all. Either stay dead or come back for good. I don't do ghosts." He bit out, angry and abused feeling; raw on the inside. He didn't do complicated.

The moonlight seemed to flair above him. The stars got all bright and fuzzy in the suddenly clear sky. He had his head resting against the rough hewn railing, his knees damp from the moisture of the bayou lapping at the wood beneath them, eyes screwed shut in a vague denial of the jumble of emotions Hakkai had tossed about within him when Gat grunted surprised from the doorway.

"Well. That is very peculiar, isn't it?" he heard the soft wonder in a lilting voice and sucked in a harsh breath.

Turning he glanced back, eyes wide. "Ha...Hakkai?"

Hakkai looked at him, his eyes a softly glowing green in the night, smiling as his walked over and dropped down beside Gojyo. Taking his face in his hands, pale fingers smoothed back red hair from burgundy eyes, "Seems like the waters don't want me anymore. Funny, isn't it?"

Gojyo was torn between wanting to hold the brunette and punch him. He settled on reaching out and kissing him hard instead.

"You fucking asshole." he groaned into Hakkai's mouth. "Don't you dare make me think you're dead again. If the water's don't want you, I'll take you. And you're not allowed to go throwing yourself off of anymore patios, you hear me!?"

Hakkai laughed softly into the side of Gojyo's neck. "I promise, no more suicides by patio."

Gojyo pulled away and searched Hakkai's face solemnly, "I mean it Hakkai, I don't do ghosts. I don't even do men, but you...maybe it's just you, I don't know. But I don't think I can deal with that again, so you either stay dead or stay by my side, you got it?"

Hakkai leaned in and rested his forehead against Gojyo's, his breath warm and soft against Gojyo's mouth. Locking eyes he nodded, "I promise, Gojyo. I promise."

The door slammed open, making the two of them jump. Gat had sensibly moved away from it at some point during their conversation. Gojyo glanced up into an angry pair of violet eyes, "Tch! Great, if the _Ghost Man_ is back for good you can get rid of that freak Hazel, he's pissing me off. Bloody fucking whack jobs, each and everyone of you! If he thinks I'm wearing some frilly-assed apron to serve drinks in he's got another thing coming to him." the blond grumbled under his breath, door bouncing back on its hinges as he turned on his heel and departed as swiftly as he came.

He chuckled into Hakkai's throat, the situation too much for his battered brain to make much of. Hakkai laughed softly as he pulled Gojyo to his feet. "Come on then, I think it's time I reassert my claim on the club's management before Sanzo kills Hazel for real this time."

Gojyo pulled Hakkai back into the circle of his arms for a moment, waiting until Gat had followed the surely blond back into the pounding club. "Gojyo?"

"Just a second, Hakkai. I wanna make sure of something." he murmured, hands sliding under the flannel and over the hard bumps of ribs.

"And what's that?" Hakkai whispered, leaning into the embrace.

"That you're really here and you're not going to go disappearing on me again."

Turning in Gojyo's embrace Hakkai ran warm hands under Gojyo's white Harley shirt and over his back, nails grazing the skin slightly. Gojyo hissed, eyes meeting Hakkai's and then smiled.

"Oh man, I am so screwed, aren't I?" He laughed openly at Hakkai's mock innocence.

"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about, Gojyo, now come on, we only need one ghost hanging around the place." Taking Gojyo's hand in his, he kissed the palm chastely before pulling him back into the thrum of noise and light.

Gojyo wasn't sure if all the bitching and towel slapping was considered living or not, but he was more than happy to help Hakkai figure it out. And as he pulled Hakkai away from the rumbling rivers and out onto the road toward New Orleans proper he reached over and slid an arm around slightly shaking shoulders, a brush of his lips against an earing clad ear and reminded him that there was a world out there beyond the trees and the moon and that not everything had to be forgotten to move forward.

He especially liked that last bit when Hakkai turned to him wide-eyed and nodded, his jaw set and a defiant look in his eyes as he turned away from the river and on toward the horizon, determination to live shimmering brightly in the night.

~Fin.


End file.
